Getty Image / Megan Briggs
The Boston Celtics are one of the most proud and storied histories in all of American Professional Sports. Out of the four major leagues in the United States, the only US-based team that has more championships than the Boston Celtics is the New York Yankees. But, on Sunday in game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics played like quitters.
After two tough losses at home to start the series, the Boston Celtics needed to win game 3 to give themselves any real chance of moving on, as no team in NBA history has ever won a series down 3-0.
Instead, they didn’t show up, and they got absolutely hammered, 128-102, in a game that was not as close as the score indicated.
Bam Adebayo was more-or-less having a dunk contest out there.
Bam is throwing a dunk party in South Beach.
It's live on TNT 🍿 pic.twitter.com/fkxZ2fp31N
— NBA (@NBA) May 22, 2023
OH MY GOD, BAM ADEBAYO WHAT A DUNK!!! pic.twitter.com/tzcV4UGsGk
— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) May 22, 2023
And, plenty of people are bashing the effort of the Boston Celtics and calling them quitters.
In my 44 years of being associated with the NBA I never thought I’d see a Boston Celtics team, a franchise with 17 Championships, quit. I know Celtics fans all over the world must be disgusted and devastated. The Miami Heat blew them out 128-102 in Game 3.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 22, 2023
Shaq really said “since the Celtics quit, can we quit?" 😭
— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) May 22, 2023
One of the worst losses in Boston Celtics history.
Certainly the most embarrassing
I never thought the players would quit on the team like this.
— Savage (@SavageSports_) May 22, 2023
Celtics have quit.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) May 22, 2023
Charles Barkley at halftime: “I’m embarrassed for the Celtics. That display of basketball, no mental toughness…they made the refs mad because they complain on every single call. The lack of mental toughness, it’s embarrassing…that was embarrassing as a Celtics fan.”
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) May 22, 2023
That was one hell of an embarrassing performance by the Boston Celtics.
And that’s an understatement.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 22, 2023
We're watching the Boston Celtics quit on live TV. They're broken. That's a wild thing.
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) May 22, 2023
Unless they come back and win this series somehow, the 2022-2023 Boston Celtics will always be known as quitters.
Game 4 is on Tuesday, back in Miami.